It’s as though the Romans had just forgotten to include the winter months in their calendar altogether – probably because they were hibernating while they should have been pruning their vines.
French Legend has it that the practice of pruning was only born quite some time later, whilst St. Martin of Tours (316 – 397AD) was visiting the Marmoutier Abbey in Alsace, France. The story goes that after tying his donkey to a vine, the donkey proceeded to eat everything in the radius around it to knee height, causing much devastation. Despite the monks believing that the vines were ruined beyond redemption, to their astonishment, the vines recovered and flourished, producing larger bunches and better wine than ever before.
While this theory makes for an entertaining story, history shows that pruning was actually practiced in ancient Egypt, as it was described in great detail by well-known writers such as Pliny (23 – 29AD). I can’t help but wonder how the Romans decided when to start pruning without a winter calendar in place, as down in South Africa weather is always top of mind, and as a result pruning is complete by early September.
Einstein and the bees – is wine at risk?
You may be familiar with the following quote, commonly (and quite possibly incorrectly) attributed to Albert Einstein:
“If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live.”
While it is highly disputed whether Einstein ever really said this, there is no denying the global concern over the dwindling bee populations and the effect that this will have on agriculture.
While this remains a serious concern for many agricultural sectors, rest-assured that grapevines are safe, as no bees or other pollinators are necessary to the grape growing or wine-making process. Weather, on the other hand, plays a key role in this process as a warm bout of weather after winter is needed to awaken the dormant buds into bud break, and the subsequent growth of shoots on which flower clusters will form.
A cluster looks like a small bunch of grapes, but in fact contains flowers under a small cap known as a calyptra that must fall off to expose the pollen-bearing stamens. The cluster contains hundreds of flowers, of which roughly half will transform into grapes under favourable conditions. Wind, cold conditions and rain can adversely affect this process, resulting in fewer berries and thus a smaller crop.
The grapevines are currently in the stage where the early varieties have finished flowering and are in fruit set, marking the transition from flowers to berries. A common occurrence during this stage is fertilised flowers failing to produce seeds, resulting in small berries amongst the developing fertilised berries that are on their way to becoming fully grown. The French refer to this phenomenon as “millerandage” whilst our local farmers simply call it “hens and chicks”.
Although vine nutrition and vigor can play an important role in the fruit set and can be controlled by the grower, we have to trust Mother Nature to provide favourable weather conditions, supply enough light intensity and higher temperatures for the ripening process to continue. These are nervous times, indeed, for a winegrower.
Once this process is complete we can calculate roughly when we will start picking and whether Durbanville Hills’ glass will be half full or half empty.
Dealing with uninvited guests
Spring saw a fresh load of snails crawling around the Durbanville Hills vineyards, prompting a few attempts to turn the common garden variety snail helix aspersa into escargot. Personally, I would prefer to send in an army of ducks to feed on them, and then prepare a tasty duck dish. I have plenty of duck recipes, but as for escargot, the general recipe seems to be “add lots of garlic”.
Jokes aside, the region is experiencing some diversity in farming which most recently resulted in an outbreak of white moths – soon to be caterpillars. Not knowing the particulars of this specific type of moth, the entomologist in me was awakened – determined to identify it and the possible effect that it may have on the vineyards. In the absence of a net, I must have been a sight trying to catch a month by hand, giving up about 30 minutes later after calling the unknown species a variety of colourful names.
I did, however, eventually figure out that these insects tend to sit on the wild lavender bushes surrounding the vineyards for extended periods of time, and managed to get close enough to take some pictures. With the help of the internet we have identified the moths as cauliflower butterflies, which are fortunately no threat to the vines.
Bubbly November
In last year’s November newsletter I proudly announced the launch of our maiden Méthode Cap Classique, a 2012 Blanc de Blancs, bottle fermented Chardonnay. Since launched, stock is depleting fast, and it was recently awarded a double gold medal at the Michelangelo awards. As the same accolade saw the 2011 Rhinofields Merlot sell out soon after the announcement, we urge our avid Méthode Cap Classique fans to stock up to avoid disappointment.
This November we are thrilled to announce the launch of our maiden Sauvignon Blanc sparkling wine. Inspired by Cape Town, the new sparkling wine packaging boasts a vibrant and unique floral design, mirroring the beautiful transformation happening outside in the vineyards. Sparkling wine is currently seen by many as the “hottest category in the world”, with non-Champagne sparkling wines growing the fastest. Prosecco is seen as the instigator that started the trend by moving away from the traditional packaging into more modern designs often boasting glitter and bling.
Developed with the emerging effervescent South African palate in mind, the wine flaunts a soft golden hue and presents a fresh burst of flavor. When visiting the cellar, guests can now experience our Sauvignon blanc in Bubbly, Sweet Noble and various dry varietal styles, of which the Rhinofields and Durbanville Hills both received gold at the 2016 Michelangelo awards.
Should you not feel like tasting a bubbly or Sauvignon variety, there is always the “Chardonnay du Monde” gold medal winning 2015 Durbanville Hills Chardonnay or Durbanville Hills Merlot Rosé that also won a Michelangelo Gold award. As variety is the spice of life we aim to provide guests with just that!